Introducing myself to the s2 world

[RowanH]

Hi im Rowan,

Finally thought it would be time to introduce myself and try and get myself into the s2 world and on this forum more. Been a member for a while but only for looking around and time wasting at work.

Finally i am going to look at getting myself an s2 or similar of my own.
im only 19 but have had a love for s2's after growing up with one on the drive and being the helpful hand to my old man, on his build.

After two years of expensive insurance for the pleasure of driving things now fancier or faster than a shoe box im after something that interests me more and that i actually like.

Once my two years driving had past i just wanted to check out how much it would be to insure an s2 for myself and was actually quite stunned at the outcome
basically £6-800 a year cheaper than my previous years insurance on a 1L mini..
so i can now afford to insure one and the rest i will have to deal with once owning one.

I will be looking around for a fairly cheap but clean car, standard or as close to if possible, not fussed weather its an avant or coupe.
probably looking up to and around the £2000 mark maybe a little more for the right car but in no rush, so will just keep my eyes pealed till something perfect springs up for sale.

any advise on how and where to start of will be appreciated.

Cheers
Rowan

[re2500]

TBH, i think youre wise to look on here. S2's arent often up for sale these days. A good or cheap one is likely to be spotted by a forum member and posted up on the forum, so just frequently visit. and be ready to snap up a bargain that someone else may spot!
Also cars owned by forum members agenerally well lo0oked after and will often be posted up here first, so another reason to look here.

best of luck with the search.

[Error404]

I Rowan. As you will have seen you are definitely in the right place on the forum.


I am sure you will have read up a lot on buying a car but buy the best you can afford and expect to get your hands dirty (as I am sure you already do )
Plenty of members down in Brissol too who I am sure will help you out

Good luck on the hunt

[Michael S2]

Welcome. Good to see another young member interested in the S2. I just think they strike the perfect balance old/interesting but still usable every day. Took me until 25 to be able to afford mine.

There are 2k S2s but they will need a bit of work and be high mileage. Most things are covered on the forum and i wouldn't let the miles put you off as these engines are built to last.

If you plan on doing a lot of miles, be aware of how much petrol these drink. £70 doesn't even get me 250 miles. They are fun miles though :thumbsup:

[RowanH]

Yes ive noticed they are few and far between, it would be an investment as well really as i know the price is on the up now, so grabbing one now will never be a bad idea.
yes getting my hands dirty is not a problem, know quite a few people from the local area already so should never get stuck

[TimE-J]

Welcome to the forum. Good luck finding an s2, as everyone else has said here is probably the best place to find one! I was 20 when I bought mine and had a similar suprise when I came to insure mine, £200 cheaper than the 2l 8v coupe I was driving.

[RowanH]

Took me until 25 to be able to afford mine.

I am really surprised by the price myself, was expecting it to be way over 2k if not more, but just over 1000 for my age is quite simply excellent for the given car. seeing as most 17 year olds pay 2-3k for little 1l hatchbacks.

My trip to work fortunately is very short so fuel wont be too bad on my pocket as long as i stay off the loud pedal most of the time

[Cottis]

Good luck with it all and as others mentioned, unless you have deep pockets and are mechanically inclined, I would avoid buying such a cheap S2, spend as much as you can afford. From what I can see £2k will buy you a car that will need more than a couple of hundred pounds spent on it.

Mine is a very good example and I don't think it was on the S2 forum at all, so definitely check out Pistonheads, Fleabay Gumtree, Trader, Freeads, Preloved etc etc. Took me a long time to find mine but I was very very picky and don't have the time or skills to sort out the various nuances of these vehicles (of which there can be many)

If your journey to work is very very short, remember to warm up the engine before giving the noisy pedal abuse. It is addictive but no doubt damaging to a turbo without warm oil.

Which insurance company has offered you a policy for a grand? That is very very cheap for someone your age. I am 33 with many years no claims and I pay about £350 for a limited mileage policy (not my daily driver) for a fairly heavily modified S2. Be prepared to always want more with these cars.

Best of luck with it all and welcome. Boost makes the world go round.

[@ndy]

Hi mate, welcome to the forum.

That insurance quote is cheaper then mine for my 2.0 16v! and I'm 26!

[RowanH]

i know the parts are expensive so maybe being safer and saving a bit more maybe to about 3.5k maybe a little more clever.
yes i doubt it would get to temperature before i got to work, and there aren't many places i would get tempted to either.
it was a quote from the admiral group on go compare, so not even a classic car policy, got three ranging from around 1200 and upwards.
as i said i was surprised, and double checked all my details to make sure i hadn't acidentaly put false details in

[Error404]

......as long as i stay off the loud pedal most of the time

Good luck with that

[andy10v]

Good luck with your hunt.

As said cheap ones can need a lot of work, that said you can buy an expensive one and still need to throw money at it.

If you can DIY they are fine to run.

S2 are awesome bang for buck compared to what else you can insure.

I was £1100-£1200 when I was 19 for my 3B. Turned 21 and my stock ABY was £450, modded 3B £600.

80tdi is much more to insure than the S2

[Error404]

insurance is cheap as they never get damaged because they are always in pieces in the garage

[audinut]

bought mine for 2k spent at least 2.5k , miles driven ...... approx 10...............

[RowanH]

yes i really dont understand the insurance system really, as ive been quoted £7 a year more for a 80 coupe 10v and a lot more for things like golf gti's etc.
and there cant be many young drivers in them